Bank merger receives regulatory approval

Reston-based WashingtonFirst Bankshares Inc. has received approval from federal and state regulators for its acquisition of Chantilly-based Alliance Bankshares Corp.

WashingtonFirst announced in May that it planned to buy Alliance for $24.4 million in cash and stock.

The merger still faces approval by shareholders at meetings scheduled Dec. 17 for WashingtonFirst and Dec. 19 for Alliance. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

The proposed transactions has been approved by the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

On Friday, WashingtonFirst reported third-quarter net income of $339,0000 or 12 cents per share (fully diluted) compared to $638,000 or 22 cents per common share (fully diluted) for the same three months in 2011.

The decrease of nearly $300,000 is attributable to $724,000 in merger expenses.

The company had total assets of nearly $600 million on Sept. 30.

WashingtonFirst Bankshares, Inc. is the holding company for WashingtonFirst Bank, which began in 2004. The bank has 10 offices, with four located in Northern Virginia, three in Maryland and three in the District of Columbia.

Alliance Bankshares is the holding company for Alliance Bank, which opened in 1998. The banks has six offices in in Northern Virginia.